Over 100 injured in gas attack in Aleppo

More than 100 people were wounded in a suspected toxic gas attack in Syria’s Aleppo late on Saturday, which a health official said was the first such assault in the city.

The Syrian government and its ally Russia blamed the attack on insurgents, allegations which rebel officials denied.

The shells spread a strong stench and caused dozens of people breathing problems in Aleppo, which is under government control, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said warplanes struck rebel territory in the northwest on Sunday for the first time since Russia and Turkey agreed a buffer zone there in September.

State news agency SANA said on Sunday that 107 people were injured, including children, after militants hit three districts of Aleppo with projectiles containing gases that caused choking. It marks the highest such casualty toll in Aleppo since government forces and their allies clawed back the city from rebels nearly two years ago.

Russia on Sunday said it had launched strikes on Syrian “terrorist” groups it accused of carrying out the chlorine attack.

“Air strikes were carried out by Russian air force planes,” defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in comments reported by TASS state news agency.